Her expression shifted again as she continued.
"The annoying part? His reason for finally deciding to do it was to make sure that if I ever got exposed, his precious old hag wouldn't leave him."
She let out a derisive snort. "Tch. That old hag sure is lucky."
Slap!
My palm connected with Roberta's face before she could react.
"What the hell is wrong with you?!" she shrieked.
Her drink went flying, spilling everywhere. A flight attendant rushed over to help clean up the mess.
Roberta was seething. "Are you insane?!"
"Being a homewrecker and still acting this arrogant?" I shot back, my voice shaking with fury.
The flight attendant quickly stepped between us, pulling us apart. She guided Roberta to an empty seat farther away from me, speaking to her in soothing tones until her temper finally cooled.
Roberta dabbed at her hands with the towel the attendant had given her, then cast me a contemptuous glance.
"God, I can't stand self-righteous women like you. 'Homewrecker' this, 'homewrecker' that—let's be honest here."
Her lips curled into a sneer. "You're just bitter because you're too old to attract men anymore. Back when you were young? I bet you chased after them harder than anyone."
"You—!"
The flight attendant grabbed my arm before I could lunge.
I didn't want to make their jobs harder. Gritting my teeth, I forced myself back into my seat.
Roberta looked me up and down with undisguised disdain.
"Let me give you some real talk. You're not young anymore. Your husband definitely has someone on the side." She tilted her head, feigning sympathy. "Go home and check his phone if you don't believe me. I mean, looking like that? No wonder he doesn't want to come home."
Splash!
The fresh drink the attendant had just brought me hit Roberta square in the face.
She screamed.
The flight attendants scrambled to get between us again.
Chief Purser Morgan approached with an apologetic smile plastered on her face. "Ms. Kaufman, this passenger is a VIP guest. Please, let's all calm down. How about I bring you some fruit? Help you relax?"
"VIP guest?" I bit out through clenched teeth.
The chief purser leaned in close, lowering her voice. "She's affiliated with Mr. Stephens—the CEO of that rising tech company. I'm telling you to keep your distance for your own good. He's very protective of her."
I laughed bitterly. Of course he was.
The plane landed at the transfer hub.
Neither Roberta nor I deplaned.
I switched my phone off airplane mode and texted Carl.
[Where are you?]
He sent back a photo of his office desk.
[Making money for my wife]
[For me? Or for someone else?]
No reply.
I sent a single question mark.
The next second, a familiar voice drifted over from Roberta's seat.
"Someone threw juice on you? Who dares treat my little Roberta like that?"
"Some old hag!" Roberta whined. "Hmph, this is all your fault! If you'd been here, she never would've had the guts!"
"Okay, okay... it's hubby's fault."
Ding.
[Alipay transfer received: $500,000]
The robotic notification chimed from Roberta's phone.
Carl's voice was warm, indulgent. "Go buy yourself something nice."
My fingers dug into the fabric of my sleeve.
The smile on Roberta's face vanished as quickly as it appeared. She pouted dramatically.
"Hmph! That won't work. You're the one who said you missed me, that you wanted to spend New Year's Eve together! Otherwise, I never would've gotten on this stupid plane and run into that crazy woman!"
Her voice pitched higher. "No amount of money can make me feel better now! Hmph!"
Carl didn't get angry. If anything, his tone grew lighter, amused.
"What about the new villa hubby bought you?"
Roberta's eyes widened slightly.
"There it is. My little Roberta's smiling now. Happy?"
"I am not!" She puffed out her cheeks again. "But... hmph, fine. I'll give you a chance. Only because I love you."
"Good girl. Hubby will make it up to you properly tonight, okay?"
"Three hours. Not one second less!"
"You can have the whole night."
